Name/Title: Ryan Wong, PhD, associate professor of biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts
Year you joined the INBRE program: 2023
Research focus: Neuromolecular mechanisms of behavior
Goal of your research: Understanding the neuromolecular basis of stress and cognition
Your research will make a difference because: How animals (including humans) cope with stress and learn and remember events are due in part to complex interactions between the individual’s nervous system and its genome. Understanding normative functions of these cellular and molecular interactions can give important insights into mechanisms that may go awry in stress-related mental health disorders.
Why is it important to mentor undergraduate students: An immersive research experience for undergraduates has the potential to change career paths. For example, from my experience volunteering in a research laboratory while an undergraduate, it made me switch career paths towards one focusing on research. Thus, I believe that gaining research experience and especially the mentor-mentee relationship in the research laboratory is critical in helping undergraduates at least appreciate the process of conducting science and possibly motivate them to become career scientists themselves.
Three things people may not know about you:
- I like to cook.
- I have many orchids.
- One of my favorite movies is "Finding Nemo."